ESPN Boxing

They've both faced Oscar De La Hoya and Winky Wright. Now, Fernando Vargas and Shane Mosley, two of this era's biggest stars, are eyeing each other for a major fight in early 2006.

Negotiations are underway to match the former champions in a 12-round junior middleweight fight on HBO PPV in February or March, their representatives told ESPN.com.

"Both sides would like to put it together, but depending on how the deal is structured will depend on if the fight gets made," said Carl Moretti, vice president of Main Events, which promotes Vargas. "Our discussions were good enough to have another discussion."

The sides spoke Thursday on a conference call to lay the groundwork for making the fight.

"Hopefully by early next week there will be more specifics. I'm hopeful the fight can be made," said Vargas co-manager Shelly Finkel, who was on the call along with Moretti, Main Events CEO Kathy Duva and Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions, which promotes Mosley.

Vargas (26-2, 22 KOs), a two-time 154-pound champ, and Mosley (41-4, 35 KOs), who won world titles at 135, 147 and 154, are naturals to meet.

They're both from Southern California and have been involved in some of the biggest fights in recent years. They are also nearing the end of their careers and fighting each other would give them each a massive payday.

Mosley's last two fights were at 147 after dropping down from 154, but he would go back up in weight to fight Vargas.

"I talked to Shane, and Vargas is one of three opponents he'd like to fight," Schaefer said.

"The others are Floyd Mayweather and [undisputed welterweight champ] Zab Judah. I have already talked to Don King [Judah's promoter] about a Judah fight. But I think the Vargas fight is the right fight for Shane, and that Shane is the right fight for Vargas. So we'll keep talking. Hopefully, we can put it together. It's the kind of fight everyone would want to see. It's a big fight.

"This is the one we will try to make. If we can make it, great. If we can't, Shane Mosley has other options."

Vargas has victories against Wright and Ike Quartey and losses to De La Hoya and Felix Trinidad. Mosley has two victories against De La Hoya -- now his promoter and partner in Golden Boy -- but two losses to Wright.

"In the ring, it's two of California's biggest stars, next to the Dodgers and Angels, going at it," Moretti said. "Style-wise, it's got to be a good fight."

Before it happens, however, there are plenty of issues for the sides to iron out, including how they will split all the money the fight figures to generate.

"These are two guys who are stars and each one has a good following," Schaefer said. "We have to see how we'll split the pot and negotiate the regular stuff, but I have a good feeling."

Ruiz returns: With American TV networks and fans uninterested in his fights, heavyweight titlist John Ruiz will take his jab-and-grab style overseas for the first time in his career to make a mandatory defense Dec. 17 in Berlin against 7-foot, 340-pound Nicolay Valuev, a Russian based in Germany.

Ruiz attorney Tony Cardinale said the Ruiz side was finalized on Thursday.

It will be Ruiz's first fight since April 30, when he briefly lost his title on a unanimous decision to James Toney at New York's Madison Square Garden. Toney, however, tested positive for a banned steroid in the postfight drug screen. The New York commission changed the result of the fight to a no decision and the WBA subsequently stripped Toney of the title and gave it back to Ruiz.

Valuev (42-0, 31 KOs) gained the mandatory position on Oct. 1 with a controversial majority decision against American Larry Donald, who like Ruiz (41-5-1, 28 KOs), is promoted by King. In the past year, Valuev also defeated fringe contenders Paolo Vidoz, Gerald Nobles, Attila Levin and Clifford Etienne.

Norman "Stoney" Stone, Ruiz's outspoken manager and trainer, said Valuev's size shouldn't pose too much of a problem for Ruiz.

	“	I just want to make sure he takes a steroid test. I want to make sure James Toney is not in touch with this guy. I would much rather fight a big guy than a small guy because you're not punching down, and Johnny will have more speed. ”
		— Norman "Stoney" Stone, John Ruiz's manager and trainer, on the prospect of his fighter facing giant Nickolay Valuev in December

"Valuev is a big guy, but we've never had a problem with big guys," Stone said.

"I just want to make sure he takes a steroid test. I want to make sure James Toney is not in touch with this guy. I would much rather fight a big guy than a small guy because you're not punching down, and Johnny will have more speed."

Stone said although he would rather the fight be in the United States, Germany is where Ruiz can earn the most money.

Ruiz will earn $1.7 million plus a percentage of the gate, a far better deal than he could get to fight in the United States, where HBO and Showtime have little interest in his bouts.

"I would prefer to stay here, but you won't get the money here that you get to go there," Stone said.

"You have to take a little gamble, but the gamble will work out for us. Johnny is coming home with the title. We'll try to get rid of the mandatory and then we'll come back to the States and try to unify the titles."

Going to Germany has never been easy for American fighters. There are numerous tales of bad decisions and tainted food and water. Stone said they are ready for anything.

"No one will touch any of our food or water," he said.

Said Cardinale, "Obviously, history tells us not to leave it in the hands of the judges."

Lamon Brewster, another King heavyweight titlist, defended his version of the title in Germany earlier this month, knocking out mandatory Luan Krasniqi in a fight Brewster was trailing on the scorecards.

Wright vacates: Wright, who claimed the Ring magazine junior middleweight title when he beat Mosley in their first fight in March 2004, has vacated the 154-pound world championship.

Wright's last fight against Trinidad in May was at middleweight, but he kept the title because he was considering returning to 154 for the right fight. That fight didn't materialize and Wright has signed for another middleweight bout on Dec. 10 against Sam Soliman.

Wright notified Ring editor Nigel Collins this week, telling him that because he sees no lucrative fight at 154 pounds, he is staying at middleweight for the foreseeable future. Wright felt that he should vacate to give other top junior middleweights a chance to win it.

The Ring magazine titles are awarded on a specific criteria to the top fighter in each division but without the politics that make it so difficult for many fighters to retain belts. The only way to lose a Ring title -- for which a fighter does not have to pay a sanction fee -- is to either lose it in the ring, move up in weight (like Wright) or retire.

Tarver vs. Rocky: Light heavyweight king Antonio Tarver is about to become a Hollywood heavyweight.

Tarver is slated to play the role of heavyweight champion Mason Dixon in the forthcoming movie "Rocky Balboa," the sixth installment of the popular Sylvester Stallone boxing series.

"You're looking at Mason Dixon. I'm the heavyweight champion of the world, and unfortunately Rocky's got to come back to see me," Tarver told ESPN Hollywood in an interview set to air Friday night (ESPN2, 6 ET).

"I want to dispel a rumor [that] Roy Jones may be in the film. We will need folks to knock out along the way but that's the biggest part he'll get."

Tarver said he would begin shooting the movie in early December in Las Vegas around the weekend of the Dec. 3 Jermain Taylor-Bernard Hopkins middleweight title rematch.

"We are doing this reality-style," Tarver said. "After they jump off the scale, we'll jump on. After they do their presser, then we'll do ours."

Arum on tour: No, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum is not a rock star, but he is on tour. Arum, along with longtime publicist Bill Caplan, is in the midst of a coast-to-coast, 13-city tour to promote the Nov. 12 heavyweight championship fight between Vitali Klitschko and challenger Hasim Rahman.

Arum has visited Miami, Tampa, Houston, Dallas, Denver and Phoenix, meeting with the media in each city to hype the biggest heavyweight fight of the year.

"We're back in the heavyweight business, we're excited and we want to talk about Vitali Klitschko and Hasim Rahman," said Arum, who has promoted dozens of major heavyweight fights beginning with Muhammad Ali vs. George Chuvalo in 1966.

Klitschko-Rahman, which Arum won with a $12.001 million surprise purse bid, is his biggest heavyweight fight since George Foreman knocked out Michael Moorer in a stunning upset to regain the title in 1994.

Arum's tour continues through Nov. 3 with stops in New York, Rahman's hometown of Baltimore, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego.

No word on whether or not Arum is attracting groupies at each stop.

Kushner card: Although Cedric Kushner and Warriors Boxing are co-promoting the Friday night pay-per-view card headlined by heavyweight David Tua, Kushner is working on a solo effort for Dec. 2.

Kushner said he is finalizing plans for a $24.95 card from New York's Hammerstein Ballroom that would feature lightweight contender Joel Casamayor (31-3-1, 19 KOs) against rising South African contender Isaac Hlatshwayo (22-0, 9 KOs) in a 12-round fight.

Casamayor, a former junior lightweight champion, is coming off a draw with Almazbek "Kid Diamond" Raiymkulov in June while Hlatshwayo scored the biggest victory of his career in August, when he outpointed countryman Cassius Baloyi.

Kushner said Tua also could be on the card, although it depends on what happens in his fight against Cisse Salif on Friday night. In addition, Kushner said he planned to put former junior lightweight titlist "Mighty" Mike Anchondo (25-1, 18 KOs) on the televised portion of the card as well as a fourth fight.

Big British bout: Audley Harrison, who won the 2000 super heavyweight gold medal for England but has moved his base to the United States, is returning home for the biggest heavyweight fight England has to offer.

Harrison (19-0, 14 KOs) will face his stiffest test as pro in Danny Williams (33-4, 28 KOs) on Dec. 10 at London's ExCel Arena. Williams, of course, gained fame with his fourth-round knockout of Mike Tyson in 2004 followed by a knockout loss to Vitali Klitschko in a world title fight.

It is the biggest all-British heavyweight match since Lennox Lewis defended the title against Frank Bruno in Wales in 1993.

"It will be my toughest fight on paper," Harrison said.

"But honestly, I think my science and my boxing ability make my other fights look easy. Danny can punch, he will be in good condition and have a good heart but I am looking to expose his weaknesses. Guts and a chin are not enough to beat a champion. People are always saying can I mix it, but can I take a shot? On Dec. 10 you will see a top performance from me and my full arsenal of talents. … With respect, if I can't beat Danny, I am not going to be going where I want to be."

Said Williams: "It won't be as hard as my fight against Tyson or Klitschko but it will be a tough fight. Audley thinks that I have had a lot taken out of me and that it will be easy. It won't."

The co-feature is probably the second biggest heavyweight fight that Britain has to offer with British champ Matt Skelton facing Ireland's Kevin McBride, who gained his own amount of fame in June when he stopped Tyson.

Harrison eschewed signing with Frank Warren, England's most powerful promoter, after the 2000 Olympics and has feuded openly with him since. However, they were able to make a one-time deal for the Williams fight.

"This is a one-fight deal as I am independent, and both sides have altered their conditions from the last time we talked," Harrison said.

"The timing suits us both and that made this fight possible. It isn't about the money, and I am not taking the money I should be getting for this fight, but it is time to give the fans something back and I am pleased for them that we are able to get this fight on."

Hatton fight on: Junior welterweight champ Ricky Hatton can go forward with his unification fight against titlist Carlos Maussa on Nov. 26 in England without worrying about an injunction stopping the bout.

Warren, who guided Hatton's career from Day 1 until Hatton broke with him following his title victory against Kostya Tszyu in June, sued Hatton for breach of contract and was trying to prevent the Maussa fight. Warren claimed to have three more fights remaining on his contract with the 140-pound champ.

However, Warren has dropped his pursuit of an injunction, although he is still suing for monetary damages.

Fans tired of missing overseas action won't have to miss the Hatton-Maussa fight. Along with the undercard, it will be available in the United States live on pay-per-view on both cable systems and satellite providers. The $19.95 show will air at 4 p.m. ET.

"The Contender" ratings champ: "The Contender" rematch special between Season 1 winner Sergio Mora and Peter Manfredo, which aired Saturday night on ESPN, was seen in more than 1.2 million homes. That made it the most-watched boxing broadcast on ESPN or ESPN2 since 1997 and the highest rated (1.4) since 1998.

The numbers appear even more impressive considering that the start of the card was delayed by almost an hour because of a college football game, and did not air until shortly before midnight on the East Coast.

"Saturday night's ratings performance on ESPN represents a genuine interest by our viewers and boxing enthusiasts for 'The Contender' storyline and high-level competition in general," said Ron Semiao, senior vice president, ESPN Original Entertainment.

"'The Contender' special delivered strong numbers in spite of the fact that we were delayed by an hour by college football."

After NBC canceled "The Contender," ESPN picked up a second season of the Mark Burnett-produced reality boxing series. Casting for 16 boxers to star in the second installment has begun, with the premier scheduled for April.

Excuses, excuses: DaVarryl Williamson, who did virtually nothing in a lopsided decision loss to Chris Byrd in one of the most desultory heavyweight title fights in history on Oct. 1, has come up with a reason for his non-performance.

Williamson announced that he had right elbow surgery Oct. 17. During the two-hour procedure, he had scar tissue, 15 particles and two bone spurs removed plus fluid drained from the joint.

"I wish this is something that I had done prior to the Byrd fight," Williamson said.

"I kept the pain in my right arm to myself because I didn't want to lose my opportunity at the IBF title, and my own warrior mentality told me that I could bite down and get through it. But the week of the Byrd fight, the pain continued, culminating in a night where I couldn't even throw the money punch, my right hand. In retrospect, I should have told my wife, my team and my promoter, and they could have done something to postpone the fight while I got the right arm fixed, but I thought I could get through it on my own, and obviously I couldn't."

De La Hoya, Trinidad together: De La Hoya and Trinidad will be together again on Friday night, but not inside the ring. Instead, Trinidad has accepted De La Hoya's invitation to join him ringside for a card that De La Hoya is promoting in Puerto Rico, where Trinidad is the favorite son.

"A boxing event in Puerto Rico just wouldn't be the same without Felix Trinidad in attendance," De La Hoya said. "So I extended an invitation to Felix to attend our first show on the island, and he graciously accepted."

Perhaps while sitting together, De La Hoya and Trinidad might discuss a rematch of their 1999 welterweight unification fight, the highest grossing non-heavyweight bout in history, which Trinidad won via controversial majority decision.

In the Friday night main event (Telefutura, 9 ET), junior welterweight Wilfredo Negron (25-8, 19 KOs) will face Juan Carlos Rodriguez (50-20-2, 34 KOs).

Quick hits: The heavily hyped rematch between Jose Luis Castillo and Diego Corrales on Oct. 8 generated disappointing pay-per-view numbers. Showtime executives privately say the fight did about 200,000 buys, far less than the 300,000-plus they anticipated. Castillo, who failed to make weight for the lightweight title fight, knocked out Corrales in the fourth round to even their series at one victory apiece. The fighters, Castillo promoter Arum and Corrales promoter Gary Shaw talked about a third fight in the immediate aftermath, but it remains to be seen whether Showtime's poor pay-per-view performance will impact a third fight. … Promoters King and Germany's Universum avoided a WBA purse bid this week, making a deal that will send King-promoted Maselino Masoe to Germany to defend his minor middleweight belt against Felix Sturm on Nov. 26. … King won another WBA purse bid, offering $460,000 for welterweight titlist Luis Collazo's mandatory defense against Oktay Urkal. Urkal's German promoter, Sauerland Promotions, bid $261,200. No date has been set for the fight yet. … In a third WBA purse bid, handlers for featherweight titlist Chris John of Indonesia won the right to stage his mandatory defense against Juan Manuel Marquez for $125,000. The problem is that Marquez -- a former unified champion until he was unceremoniously stripped by both the IBF and WBA in a recent political move -- probably will decline the fight rather than go all the way to Indonesia as a challenger for only a 25-percent cut of the bid amount. … Welterweight contender Joshua Clottey (27-1, 20 KOs) faces Marlon Thomas (32-5-1, 21 KOs) in a 10-rounder on Friday night at the Turning Stone resort in Verona, N.Y. in the main event of promoter Lou DiBella's "Broadway Boxing" card. Also on the card, welterweight Chris Smith (19-2-1, 12 KOs), coming off a technical decision loss to former junior welterweight champ Sharmba Mitchell in June, returns to face Tomas Barrientes (27-8, 17 KOs). … Also Friday, at the Mohegan Sun resort in Connecticut, light heavyweight Eric Harding (22-3-1, 7 KOs), who split two fights with division king Tarver and lost in a title challenge to Jones, faces Daniel Judah (20-0-3, 10 KOs), the brother of undisputed welterweight champ Zab Judah. … Lightweight contender Juan Lazcano (34-3-1, 26 KOs), in his second bout since ending a 14-month layoff, will headline a card Nov. 11 in Chicago (Telefutura, 9 ET) when he faces the fading Courtney Burton (21-4, 11 KOs). In his first fight since losing a decision for a vacant title to Castillo in June 2004, Lazcano scored a first-round knockout of Marco Angel Perez in August. Burton's once-rising stock has fallen dramatically in the past couple of years because he has lost three of his last four fights by knockout. His lone victory in that span was a highly controversial split decision against Emanuel Augustus. … Main Events, which built a stable of future stars with regular club shows in New Jersey during the 1980s, is going back to its roots. The company has announced a series of cards at North Bergen's Schuetzen Park. The first six-fight card of the series is Nov. 30 and will be headlined by rising featherweight prospect Jason Litzau (15-0, 14 KOs). Among the others on the card are Paterson, N.J., welterweight prospect Henry Crawford (7-0-1, 2 KOs) and Noriko Kariya (3-0), the sister of NHL star Paul Kariya.

Quotable: "I want people to enjoy my fights. I want to be in epic battles that people can look upon and say 'That was great.' There are fights for me out there that could be like that: a rematch with Jameel McCline; the Klitschkos; James Toney. David Tua. Sam Peter. These are all intriguing fights people would love to see." -- heavyweight contender Shannon Briggs (43-4-1, 37 KOs), who faces Saul Montana (44-13, 38 KOs) on Nov. 4 in New York.

Dan Rafael is the boxing writer for ESPN.com.